Burnout Revenge Preview

After all the time it took you to get earn every one of the gold medals in Burnout 3: Takedown, it's almost time to gear up for Criterion's next foray into the metal-grinding, glass-shattering theatrics genre that they've dominated since 2001. Burnout Revenge, due this September, looks to maintain the same level of vehicular carnage and breakneck speed that its predecessor delivered so well while adding a few things that will hook fans of the Burnout series all over again.

Perhaps the biggest change in Burnout Revenge will be that traffic is going to be increased... a lot. We're talking rush-hour traffic here. No longer are the rival cars and the track layouts your only enemies... now you'll have to find a level of Zen to weave your way in and out of heavy traffic patterns. The good news about this, though, is that players won't necessarily be dealt an instant wreck if they collide with other traffic; in fact, you'll be able to bump and shove traffic, inciting awesome crashes and possibly even taking out a rival or two in the process. Word is that the Crashbreaker option from Burnout 3's Takedown mode is going to be implanted as an option for standard crashes in Burnout Revenge, enabling you to take even more control of your wreckage when you collide with something—or someone.

As for the tracks themselves, they've been redesigned to incite more crashes. If you think back to how cool the Downtown stages were, when you could run a rival right into a pillar, it's these kinds of situations that Criterion is pushing for with Burnout Revenge. Look for ramps and in-road obstacles to avoid. The tracks will also span real-life locations this time around, including areas of Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Detroit. You just might see some very recognizable areas on each track, if you're familiar with the locality in which they take place.

Crash Mode is coming back in Burnout Revenge, much to the delight of many. Look for at least 100 new crash junctions to raise hell on (spanning multiple crash courses instead of race courses), and some new situations to deal with. Crashbreakers will play a huge role once again, with multiple crashbreakers in many junctions. One notable change will be that the multiplier icons aren't coming back this time, so players will have to make their best crashes good enough without much help.

Criterion will be showing this game off full-tilt at E3 later this month, and we're excited about it. There's no doubt that the Burnout series is more popular than it's ever been, and confidence is pretty high that Criterion can keep the success train moving. Check back with us during and after E3 for full coverage of this and many other PS2 games.